The Right Chemistry: 'Forest bathing' is good for you, but 'hot potting' can be fatal

When I was growing up in Sopron, Hungary we had a tradition. Sundays were reserved for a hike through the pine forest that surrounds the town to the “Karolymagaslat,” a lookout with a spectacular view. At a snack bar there we would order “korozott,” a spread made with butter, cottage cheese and of course paprika. Delicious on freshly baked bread! We would then head back through the forest, stopping at the “Deak kut,” a fresh water spring where we’d sit and soak our feet. Cold but refreshing. I looked forward to Sundays.

Our ritual began long before 1982 when the Forest Agency of Japan proposed “forest bathing” as a means of relaxation and stress management. Whereas in North America people who complain to their physician of feeling stressed and anxious usually come away with a prescription for a medication, in Japan that prescription may be for “Shinrin-yoku,” which translates as “taking in the forest atmosphere.”

Forest bathing is different from hiking in that there is no real destination and no challenge to accomplish anything in a given time frame. People just take a leisurely stroll, admiring the trees, taking in the streams and inhaling the forest air. It is that air that is believed to impart the benefits because of the presence of “phytoncides,” chemicals such as limonene and pinene given off by plants and trees.

What evidence is there for the benefits of such a nature walk? Studies have actually shown that participants in forest sojourns had lower blood pressure, heart rate and a lower concentration of the stress hormone cortisol in their saliva. Even more interesting is the apparent boost in immune function. In one study, subjects spent three days and two nights in a forest with researchers taking blood and urine samples before and after the event. They found a significant rise in natural killer cells, a type of white blood cell that fights viral infections and tumours. Based on blood samples taken on different routes, Shinrin-yoku trails have even been classified in terms of the extent they can raise natural killer cell counts. Forest bathing may even help with ADHD. Kids with ADHD were asked to take 20 minute walks among trees or in some urban area. The tree-walk resulted in better concentration.

But what if you just can’t get to a forest? A study showed that infusing people’s hotel rooms with phytoncides raised killer cell levels much like walking through a forest. Even placing a plant you admire in your room can lower stress, as can listening to nature sounds over a headphone. Looking outdoors can help people in hospitals heal faster. When researchers studied people recovering from abdominal surgery, they found that those with tree-lined views were released faster from the hospital, experienced fewer complications and required less pain medication than people whose room faced a brick wall.

Actually, the Japanese were not the first to recommend nature walks for health. That honour probably should go to Sebastian Kneipp a Bavarian priest who in the 1800s recommended a mix of forest hikes, botanical essences, a diet of whole grains, fruits and vegetables with limited meat. More importantly, he believed to have cured himself of tuberculosis by taking baths in the freezing Danube. I didn’t realize it at the time, but our Sunday walks in Hungary sort of conformed to the “Kneipp therapy.” I certainly remember sticking my feet into the cold water as being invigorating. But I don’t think I was cavorting with danger. Which brings us to the story of “hot potting.”

Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming features a great deal of underground volcanic activity resulting in a number of hot springs and geysers around the park. “Hot potting” refers to straying from designated paths and illegally dipping into hot springs. That is just what 23-year-old Colin Nathaniel Scott and his sister, Sable Scott, were planning to do last June. The consequences of the proposed dip turned out to be catastrophic. There is good reason for the warnings to stay away from the hot springs. The water in some ponds can be near boiling and cause instant burns. Colin was undeterred by the warnings and was bent on some hot potting. Unfortunately, when he bent down to test the water temperature with his hands he slipped, fell into the pool and was unable to climb out. Rescue workers quickly arrived but had to abandon their efforts due to a severe lightning storm. By the time they were able to return, the body was nowhere to be found. It had apparently dissolved.

Dissolving of bodies are usually the stuff of horror movies or TV shows like Breaking Bad, although there are some documented real-life cases. In the 1940s, British murderer John George Haigh dissolved his victims in drums filled with concentrated sulphuric acid, the same fate that seemingly befell Colin Scott. The unfortunate man had chosen the wrong pond for potting. While most of the springs in the park are alkaline, this one was strongly acidic, because of a species of “hyperthermophilic” bacteria that can thrive in the scalding water and convert the hydrogen sulphide spewed out by underground volcanic action into sulphuric acid.

Obviously hot potting is not compatible with forest bathing. But with all the stresses of modern life, maybe a little Shinrin-yoku is not a bad idea. Even so, finding the time is stressful. I wonder whether watching the aquarium channel can have the same calming effect as gazing at streams in the forest? Of course, there are no phytoncides, but that can be solved. Some pinene from the lab mixed with distilled water in a spray bottle may do the trick for a “forest aroma.” And then to bring back memories of those stress-free Sunday hikes, I’ll make some “korozott.” But unlike back then, now there is the issue of cholesterol. Talk about stress.

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